GLANDERS

BIOTERRORBIBLE.COM:There is an ever expanding list of potential bio-terror agents that could be used in a bio-terror attack, but anthrax, smallpox and flu are the only “threats” the government appears worried about. These 3 agents will likely be used the same way that they were used in the U.S. government bio-terror war-games entitled Dark Winter and Atlantic Storm.

Abstract:Glanders is an
infectious
disease that occurs
primarily in horses, mules, and donkeys. It can be contracted by other animals such as dogs,
cats and goats. It is caused by infection with the bacteriumBurkholderia
mallei, usually by
ingestion of contaminated food or water. Symptoms of glanders include the
formation of nodular lesions in the lungs and ulceration of the mucous
membranes in the upper respiratory tract. The acute form results in coughing,
fever and the release of an infectious nasal discharge, followed by septicaemia
and death within days. In the chronic form, nasal and subcutaneous nodules
develop, eventually ulcerating. Death can occur within months, while survivors
act as carriers.

Glanders is endemic
in Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Central and South America. It has been
eradicated from North America, Australia and most of Europe through
surveillance and destruction of affected animals, and import restrictions.

Burkholderia
mallei is able to infect
humans and is therefore classed as a zoonotic agent. Transmission occurs by direct contact with infected animals and
entry is through skin abrasions, nasal and oral mucosal surfaces, or by
inhalation.

The mallein test is a
sensitive and specific clinical test for glanders. Mallein (ATCvet code: QI05AR01), a
protein fraction of the glanders organism (Burkholderia
mallei), is injected
intradermo-palpebrally or given by eye-drop. In infected animals, the eyelid
swells markedly in 1 or 2 days.

Glanders has not been
reported in the United States since 1945.

Biological
Warfare UseDue to the high
mortality rate in humans and the small number of organisms required to
establish infection, Burkholderia mallei is regarded as a potential biological
warfare (BW) or bioterrorism agent, as is the closely related organism, Burkholderia
pseudomallei, the causative agent of melioidosis. During World War I, Glanders was believed to have been spread
deliberately by German agents to infect large numbers of Russian horses and mules on the Eastern
Front. Other agents attempted to introduce the disease in the United
States and Argentina. This had an effect on troop and supply convoys as well as
on artillery movement, which were dependent on horses and mules. Human cases in
Russia increased with the infections during and after WWI. The Japanese deliberately infected horses, civilians, and prisoners of war with B.
mallei at the Pinfang (China)
Institute during World War

The U.S. studied this
agent as a possible BW weapon in 1943–44 but did not weaponize it. U.S.
interest in Glanders (Agent LA) continued through the 1950s, except it had an
inexplicable tendency to lose virulence in the lab, making it difficult to
weaponize. The Soviet Union is also believed to have been interested in B.
mallei as a potential BW agent after World War II (Wikipedia, 2012).